Chidimma Uchegbu
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and the Nigerian Academy of Engineering have formed a partnership to bridge skills gaps in the country.
The collaboration was formalized through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abuja on Monday.
Speaking, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arch. Sonny Echono, commended the Nigerian Academy of Engineering and the Society of Engineers for their commitment and hard work across the country.
He said the time has come for Nigeria not just to talk about Technical Industrial Vocational, and Entrepreneurship Training (TIVET), but to take action.
According to him, over time, Nigeria has introduced several policies on TIVET. “If you go around our campuses and our institutions, it would not be wrong to say that all these years we’ve been paying lip service to the idea of promoting TIVET.
“Why do I say that? Our polytechnics, which are intended to be the pillars of TIVET in this country, many of them are offering courses that have no bearing on TIVET.
“The laboratories, the workshops that they have, often contain obsolete equipment. Many do not have the requisite technical staff to man these facilities. We are still grappling with the issue of power and ensuring that production can take place and teaching and learning can happen.”
He noted that the MoU signified the framework for collaboration in multifaceted fields in TIVET, saying it would intensify efforts to address the challenge of hearing criticisms in the media about Nigerians not contributing enough to the development of the country.
“We are not going to take offense. We will sit down, work, and ensure that we counter some of these statements. That is the way to respond. And I believe that with the support of the rest of our country, with the active support of all the agencies involved, including the legislature and the executive branch, we will get there. So I thank you for coming, and I welcome you to the signing ceremony,” he added.
On his part, President of the Nigerian Academy of Engineers, Engr. Rahamon Adisa Bello, said the event is historic and marks the beginning of a way forward towards bringing together all agencies and professional bodies that have roles to play in assisting the government in entrenching Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) activities, in order to start filling the gap for technicians and artisans in the Nigerian economy.
“It has been established that we have an inverted pyramid in the engineering profession. When we talk about the availability of professionals for development, the lack of technicians and artisans is obvious and needs to be reversed and urgently filled.
“But it is important to note that the federal government of Nigeria has commenced the process of reawakening this through the recent launch of the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) and the inclusion of the National Skills Qualification that was sworn into the scheme of service in Nigeria.”
Also speaking, the President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Engr. Margaret Oguntala, said there cannot be national development without engineering and technical education.
“I think that the signing of this MoU is long overdue. I’m glad that today the Executive Secretary has found time for us to sign this MoU. The objective of TVET is very clear.
“To provide a physical mass of people and their skills for the work. TVET is part of our strategic agenda. The NSE strategic agenda has five pillars, and TVET comes under community impact in pillar number four.
“So that shows how serious we are about this event that is taking place today. And I want to congratulate all of us who are here today to witness this historic event. And I believe that with this MoU we are signing today, we’ll all be able to chart the path forward for the growth of the technical industry, using the technical skills that we have,” she added.
